'Where prairie meets pine': Norquay, Sask., boasts spellbinding forested wilderness

CBC's virtual road trip seriesLand of Living Storiesexplores the hidden gems across Saskatchewan.You can invite CBC's Laura Sciarpellettito your community for a virtual tour. Visitcbc.ca/loveskto pitch your ideas.

As summer windsdown, you maywant to hit the lakes and campgrounds before it's too late. While there are great spots all over the province,the campsites and sprawling forests of eastern Saskatchewan provide a particularly spellbinding experience.

"Where prairie meets pine" is the slogan for the Norquay, Sask., a town about 240 kilometres northeast of Regina, near the Manitoba border.

That tagline could not be more accurate. There is a jolting change as you drive slightly north of Norquay into the thick forests surrounding Parr Hill Lake and Townsend Lake inPorcupine Hills Provincial Park.

Land of Living Stories: Canora

4 years ago

Duration 2:36

Visit the town of Canora, Sask. in the fourth installment of CBC's virtual road trip series Land of Living Stories.

But before we get to the backwoods roads of eastern Saskatchewan, we've got a few stops to make.

Canora

On the way to Norquay, we hit the town of Canora, about 50 kilometresdue north of Yorkton. The town has a prevalent Ukrainian community. In fact, when you drive into Canora, you are instantly welcomed by a large roadside statue of a Ukrainian woman named Lesia.

Canora is home to beautiful Ukrainian churches, and stopping by to take in theirbright and ornate architecture isdefinitely a must.

Rose Remenda a Ukrainian-Canadian whohas lived in Canora for more than 40 yearssays the land was very attractive to Ukrainian immigrants in the 1800s and 1900s.

"It was nice soil and a lot of people lived on the farms here. They werea really big Ukrainian settlement," Remenda said.

"I know that's why my grandparents came in 1897 because they came by train from Halifax, and the train goes through our town, and they settled here.

"They had a lot of work to do. They had to clean up the bush toopen up the prairies. They worked very hard."

Canora has had some special visitors throughout the years,likeQueen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip in 1987. The town welcomed the royal couple at Canora's civic centre, which doubles as a curling rink.

Dorothy Korol, who volunteers at theUkrainian Heritage Museum with Remenda, remembers the visit very well.

"It was quite special to prepare.People came first to check out the hall and make sure it was up to snuff and so forth. And that was a special time," Korol said.

The town of Canora entertained the Queen with traditional Ukrainian dancing and a feast of perogies, cabbage rolls and headcheese.

Turns out, the Queen wasn't a fan of the headcheese.

Many say that the Gateway Co-op in Canora has the best poppyseed roll in the province. Poppyseed is a popular ingredient in Ukrainian food, and the roll is a sweet bread with a swirl of poppyseeds on the inside.

The Co-op's rolls are so popular that many people stock up.

Donna Pasiechnikwas born and raised in Canora, and now lives in Regina. Her sister and brother-in-law, who live in Vancouver, recently stopped by Regina on their way back from visiting Canora, driving their new Tesla electric car.

"My husband said to Ian, my brother-in-law, 'Hey, that's nice. So what's under the hood?' He was curious what an electric car looks like on the inside," Pasienchiksaid.

"So Ian flips over the hood ... and it's full of poppyseed rolls from the Canora bakery! It was a lot!"

Obviously, theCo-oppoppyseed roll's reputationprecedes it.

Listen to CBC's Laura Sciarpelletti take Morning Edition host Stefani Langenegger and listeners on a road trip:

We take you on a virtual camping tour of a hidden gem near Norquay, Sask.

4 years ago

Duration 3:10

CBC's Laura Sciarpelletti headed into the woods for this special camping edition of our CBC Saskatchewan series, Land of Living Stories.

Rawhides Bistro & Saloon

If we head about 30 kilometres northfrom Canora, we'll cometo Rawhides Bistro & Saloon in Stenen a true blast from the past.

Rawhides used to be an old brick school house. Now, it's a bustling Old West saloon, with three bars and a massive outdoor patio packed with country props. The restaurant has old metal seats, an old musket, Winchesters, barbed wire and saddles strewn everywhere.

It's a perfect pit stop for a truly packed plate, and great photo opportunities for you and your family.

Key First Nation

For David Howard Cote, the Key First Nation, located 20 kilometres from Norquay, is magical. Its hills, gullies and numerous lakes provide him with a connection to the land that he says he'll never lose.

"People always would ask me 'usually [people] fly the coop when you're old enough' and blah, blah, blah. But it's too hard to leave this place. Because we're part of the land," Cote said.

"For me to try and go anywhere else and call it home ... I don't think I could."

Cote is a Saulteaux member of the Key First Nation. The ancestral land of the Indigenous peoples of the Key First Nation is theShoal River region in southwestern Manitoba. Their homeland was part of the territory covered by the terms of Treaty 4 in 1874.

In 1880, the band and its chief, Chief Key, wererelocated by government surveyors to the Fort Pelly district in Saskatchewan.Eventually, due to flooding concerns, they were moved again to the land they are now on.

"They were a mixed bag of Saulteaux people, Swampy Cree, and alsoMtispeople as well, living amongst ChiefKey and his people in that area," said Cote.

Some of those people trace their roots to the father of a band of brothers known as the Brass Brothers, who came to Saskatchewan in the 1700s fromOrkney, an archipelago off the northeastern coast of Scotland,according to Cote.

He worked for the Hudson's Bay Company and married aFirst Nations woman, says Cote. They had sons who also eventually worked for the trading company.

"They got educated in the white way of language. They also learned their skills. So they were all boat builders, carpenters ... they were well to-do in the world of trades," said Cote.

"Theywere part of the band here that came with Chief Key. They married into that band."

Cote says the Brass Brothers were involved in the building ofSt. AndrewAnglican Church on the Key First Nation in the late 1800s.

The Brass Brothers and their offspring followed the Christian religion and attended the church, Cote says.And others of the band, such as Chief Key and his followers, practised their traditional religion.

"It's still kind of like thattoday on this reserve."

Cote says a lot of this history and knowledge comes from stories passed down to him by elders.

"Some of the old peoplestill remember a lot of the old stories that they were told ... but a lot of that is starting to slowly fade away now. Astime goes on they pass away, and a bit of history passes with them," Cote said.

"I like to laugh and joke around, but at the same time I really want to be a sponge and absorb as much knowledge as I can. Maybe I'll live to be an old-timer. I want to have something to tell future generations.

"That was always done with our people ... the tradition of oral history."

Norquay

Norquay is a small town that sits at the base of eastern Saskatchewan's northern wilderness. There are about 10 lakes within an hour-and-a-half drive of the town.

Locals spend a great deal of time at theWhistle Stop Family Restaurantin Norquay. Some meet for coffee there multiple times a day, trading hunting and fishing stories and maybe a little gossip.

The Whistle Stop cafeisa retro '50s-inspired diner, with Marilyn Monroe and James Dean-themed bathrooms.And you can enjoy a burger with all the fixingsfrom inside a convertible car just like in Pulp Fiction!

Megan Peters has lived in Norquay for four years, and says she loves it because it feels like she's living in the bush.

"You'll see there's lots of farmland around here too, but there's lots of forests. It's really kind of earthy and green out here. It's beautiful. It smells great out here," said Peters.

She loves camping at Parr Hill Lake, which is an hour north of Norquay, and Townsend Lake, which is an hour and a half northeastof the town. Those who live in the town of Norquay spend a great deal of time in the surrounding wilderness.

"It's all gravel and bush up there. I always think like if there was a zombie apocalypse I could probably just go north and be fine."

Parr Hill Lake& Townsend Lake campgrounds

Parr Hill Lake Campground sits nestled within a spruce forest of Porcupine Hills Provincial Park.Porcupine Hills is Saskatchewan's newest provincial park, officially designated in 2018.

Parr Hill Lakeis located along the 982 logging road. This site is paradise for those who love to both unplug and fish. The campsite has no electrical hookups or cell service,but it has a boat launch and plenty of sparkling lake to catchwalleye, northern pike and perch.

There is a stone path that leads from the lake's dock up to the campsite. The view of the spruce forest across the lake is easy to catch from your tent.

The Townsend Lake Campground is another fishing destination for campers whowant a backwoods experience. Like Parr Hill Lake Campground, it's located in Porcupine Hills Provincial Park.

Campers fish for walleye, northern pike and perch not only at Townsend Lake, but atnearby Woody LakeandElbow Lake.

Brockelbank Hill

And finally, if you drive only 30 minutes down the 980 Woody Lake logging road near the Manitoba border, and toward the town of Hudson Bay, you will come up on Brockelbank Hill.

It is very common to spot black bears and hordes of white-tailed deer along the side of the gravel road.

Brockelbank Hill is one of the most scenic and elevated spots in the province. The view from a bend in the road located in the Porcupine Hills is 810 metresabove sea level.

It's unknown to many Saskatchewan residents, even some Norquay residents.

The view of forested landscapes and distant hills perfectly represents just how unique and spellbinding the terrain in eastern Saskatchewan is.

Listen to the Land of Living Stories Part. 4 playlist on YouTube.